Failed Musohttp://www.failedmuso.com/blog
Down in the park with a friend called Five....Wed, 15 Jul 2015 20:26:27 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3UVI Launch Beathawk, iPad Music Production Apphttp://www.failedmuso.com/blog/uvi-launch-beathawk-ipad-music-production-app/
http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/uvi-launch-beathawk-ipad-music-production-app/#commentsThu, 22 Jan 2015 19:37:29 +0000http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/?p=4879Our friends at UVI have just announced their first foray into iOS music production with the launch of Beathawk, a fully featured portable music production studio for iPad. Check out the video here…

]]>http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/uvi-launch-beathawk-ipad-music-production-app/feed/2Dave Smith Wins NAMM 2015 Day Onehttp://www.failedmuso.com/blog/dave-smith-wins-namm-2015-day-one/
http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/dave-smith-wins-namm-2015-day-one/#commentsThu, 22 Jan 2015 19:21:45 +0000http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/?p=4874With lots of new stuff hurtling out of the press booths at NAMM 2015 today, one has made every electronic musician collectively climax in a sloppy, sticky mess.

As if to totally compensate for Korg’s miserable launch last night, Dave (if I may call you by your first name, sir?) dropped this beauty on us and the synth world stopped, stared and reached for their wallets.

Enjoy…
“The Prophet-6 is a tribute to the original poly synth that started it all — the Sequential Prophet-5. But more importantly, it’s the culmination of our effort to built the most awesome-sounding, modern analog poly synth possible.”

Four-pole, resonant, low-pass filter per voice, inspired by the original Prophet-5 filter
Filter can be driven into self-oscillation with the Resonance control
Bi-polar filter envelope amount
Velocity modulation of envelope amount
Keyboard tracking: off, half, full

500 user and 500 factory programs in 10 banks of 100 programs each
Direct program access, including Prophet-5 style single-button access to the current set of 10 programs

performance controls

Full-sized, semi-weighted, 4-octave keyboard with velocity and aftertouch
Backlit pitch and mod wheels
Spring-loaded pitch wheel with selectable range per program (1 to 12 semitones up and down)
Transpose controls for an 8-octave range
Hold switch latches held notes on
Polyphonic glide (portamento)
Unison (monophonic) mode with configurable voice count, from one to all six voices, and key modes
Preset switch: when off, the front panel is live; what you see is what you hear

]]>http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/dave-smith-wins-namm-2015-day-one/feed/0Korg Announce New Arp Odyssey, Badlyhttp://www.failedmuso.com/blog/korg-announce-new-arp-odyssey-badly/
http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/korg-announce-new-arp-odyssey-badly/#commentsThu, 22 Jan 2015 19:08:44 +0000http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/?p=4862Last night (for those of us in Europe), many thousands of synth fans stayed up late to watch the highly anticipated launch of the new ARP Odyssey from Korg. Broadcast live on YouTube, we waited until kick off time (11pm GMT) and were promptly delayed by 30 minutes, but we didn’t seem to mind too much, such was our excitement.

Finally, a suited guy came on stage and began rattling off a whole bunch of marketing spiel, quoting stuff from his iPhone and generally being rather annoying. Again, it was bearable. On stage we could see multiple Odysseys and a few Kronos keyboards, something that was also being launched at the event. However, the “suit” proceeded to (poorly) present a range of slides about a whole bunch of little things that Korg were also announcing (tuners, iOS apps, valves, etc). So when the “suit” called upon the “product guy”, we thought things were about to kick off.

But no.

No, the “product guy” proceeded to enthuse about the Kronos and, bizarrely, started demonstrating it with one hand (the other was holding his microphone, even though there was a mic stand at the keyboard he was playing) and waxing lyrical about Korg’s workstation legacy. However, all of his playing around was unseen because Korg had not thought it might be useful to see what someone is doing with a synth and mount an overhead cam to capture the stuff this guy was talking about.

“Product guy” finally gave way to a professional player, and it was no surprise that perennial new product endorsee, Jordan Rudess, took to the stage. Now, I fully appreciate Jordan’s talent, pedigree and history, but could Korg not think of anyone else? I mean, it’s a running joke in the industry that Rudess endorses pretty much anything. He attends the opening of an envelope! But here we were, and so Mr Rudess, who also had to deal with a handheld mic and poorly positioned stand, proceeded to demo the Kronos, getting all excited about the touch screen and “showing” us how you could raise the lid on a grand piano by simply dragging it on the screen, except we couldn’t see this as there was no camera positioned to pick this up. He then performed two pieces, most of which were pre-programmed into the unit and had Jordan noodling, albeit impressively, on top.

Next up was some Swedish dude from a band called Dirty Loops (nope, I’ve not heard of them either) who flicked through a few presets, smiled (A LOT), said, ‘um, er’ (A LOT) and then sang a bit.

After this, we all sat up, ready for the Odyssey. However, after a bit more marketing bollocks, we had two of Korg’s engineers take to the stage. Now, to give credit where credit is due, these guys were probably the most interesting part of the whole affair, telling us of their devotion and passion for the instrument and some good, interesting details, such as the fact that the casing is made by the same company who made the original casing. Oh, and everything, in typical Japanese fashion, is 14% smaller.

Then Korg wheeled out David Friend, who used to be President of ARP, who proceeded to reminisce about the good ol’ days, show some slides of him or his wife with famous people and then played a selection of clips of his favourite songs to use an ARP synth, ending on “his favourite”, Baba O’Reily by The Who which, to my knowledge, didn’t feature an ARP synth anywhere, but DID feature a Lowery Organ and its Marimba Repeat feature for that distinctive arpeggio that permeates the entire track. What I’m sure David meant to play was “Won’t Get Fooled Again” which features the same Lowery Organ but played through an ARP 2500 with its Sample & Hold providing the gated effect and its LFO the filter sweep.

So, I’m guessing, at this point you are getting a bit frustrated and wishing I’d hurry the fuck up and tell you about the Odyssey. Well, that’s exactly how we all felt last night, struggling to keep our eyes open. But finally, after yet more hyperbole from the “suit”, we got Cory Henry on stage and we held our breath.

Good job we exhaled soon, because Cory promptly ventured off into some jazz-type keyboard wankery, mainly on a Kronos, with a few embellishments from an Odyssey atop of it. Just a single patch, no messing around, no walkthrough, just some jazzy stuff and then, it was all over.

Yup, we sat through two hours or more to hear 5 minutes of one patch setting.

Not even the promo video gives us a clue as to how good or bad this thing sounds. It’s almost as if it isn’t ready or, worse still, actually any good…

As I write this, I am feeling angry again, just as I did at 01:00 this morning. So, I’m going to stop before I blow another fuse. I’d post a link to the video but I really wouldn’t want to subject you to it. Anyway, you’re bright people, you can find it.

Suffice to say, I am FAR from alone in feeling like this, and it was all compounded this morning when I learned that the synth will cost just shy of £1000. Now, consider that GForce Software have just launched their Oddity2, a full recreation of all versions of the hardware with so much more to boot, and it costs about a tenth of the (K)ARP? I’m sorry, but tactile features or not, I’m sticking with my Oddity2, a review of which is forthcoming very soon.

Korg, you dropped the ball on one of the most hotly anticipated product launches in recent history. Whoever was behind that ought to be in line at the Job Centre this morning. I’m sure the product is lovely, but we have no idea because you failed to show us.

You’re better than this, Korg. WAY better. C’mon!!!

And if you want someone to do your product launches infinitely better, just drop me an email. I’ll happily do it.

]]>http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/korg-announce-new-arp-odyssey-badly/feed/1Arturia Finally Reveal AudioFusehttp://www.failedmuso.com/blog/arturia-finally-reveal-audiofuse/
http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/arturia-finally-reveal-audiofuse/#commentsThu, 22 Jan 2015 17:11:15 +0000http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/?p=4852They’ve been teasing us with it since the back end of last year and today, as expected, Arturia finally announced and revealed AudioFuse, their first dedicated audio interface and on first impressions, it certainly does seem to deliver on those impressive early claims.

Of course, with a piece of audio equipment, the proof will indeed by in the pudding, and I hope to be able to review one once they become available. Until then, here’s the marketing blurb, some images, a video and tech specs!

Music software and hardware developer Arturia is proud to unveil AudioFuse — successfully setting a new standard in audio quality and workflow with this eagerly-awaited next-generation audio interface — at The NAMM Show 2015, January 22-25 in Anaheim, California…

AudioFuse admirably succeeds where many audio interfaces have failed, fusing the superior sound of high-end mixing consoles with unsurpassed connectivity and instant-access audio streams, stylishly housed in a compact, carefully-constructed chassis. Clearly, anyone who’s remote recording but still seeks the sound of a professional studio need look no further!

By being built on a fully-symmetrical audio chain where every stage has been diligently designed, AudioFuse offers unrivalled sonic purity. Its two DiscretePRO® microphone preamps take the best of yesterday’s vintage mixing consoles and today’s technology to provide a unique, totally discrete circuit that goes beyond the limitations of integrated circuits. AudioFuse’s 24-bit AD/DA (Analogue-to-Digital and Digital-to-Analogue) convertors are of the latest generation, delivering audio with startling transparency (at up to 192kHz sampling rate). In conjunction with Arturia’s advanced clocking system they guarantee extremely accurate timing. Sounds serious? It is. Quite literally.

Like what you’re hearing? How about this, then. AudioFuse has been directly developed with workflow of musicians in mind. Need to adjust the gain on INPUT CHANNEL 1? Turn the topside GAIN 1 knob. Need to switch between two pairs of speakers connected to the rear-mounted (SPEAKER A and SPEAKER B) balanced 1/4-inch outputs? Press the SPEAKER A SPEAKER B button. More level needed for the two front-mounted PHONES outputs (on both 1/4-inch and 1/8-inch connectors)? Turn up the appropriate PHONES knob. Nothing is buried behind convoluted menu-driven access systems, so no need to stop in your tracks and risk stopping the creative flow mid flow while scratching your head trying to work out what to do next. Quite the opposite, in fact. For everything is directly accessible and controllable. Which is how it surely should be.

Modern-day musicians more often than not need to connect a variety of equipment to an audio interface. Here, too, AudioFuse succeeds and even exceeds in meeting their expectations. Everything — microphones, instruments, turntables, pro audio equipment, Macs, PCs, tablets… even iOS and Android smart phones — can be directly connected with minimum fuss and maximum flexibility, thanks to clearly-labelled ADAT, MIDI, phono, S/PDIF, Word Clock, USB, XLR/ balanced 1/4-inch combo connections, to name but a few… the lengthy list goes on. One thing’s for sure: never has so much been so professionally packaged into something so small.

Speaking of which, AudioFuse also acts as a three-port USB/MIDI hub as well as offering a TALKBACK feature (to give directions to talent in another room using the built-in microphone) and INSERT connections (to add external line level devices, such as compressors or other effects processing, into the signal flow before the digital conversion stage). Enjoy zero-latency DIRECT monitoring of recorded signals then blend them into the COMPUTER mix courtesy of another clearly-labelled knob.

Knowing that each and every AudioFuse unit has had to pass rigorous testing and even comes complete with its individual measurement chart showing the output plot is another good reason for owning one. An aluminium chassis toughened to withstand the rigours of the road together with its eye-catching leather-covered top ensures that AudioFuse looks as good as it sounds. Its well-thought-through user interface ensures that it is easy to use while maintaining that all-important creative workflow. Working with AudioFuse is an unforgettable and enjoyable experience… a next-generation audio interface, indeed!

AudioFuse will be shipping in Spring 2015 and available to buy in a choice of silver, grey, and black colour finishes from Arturia online or through the company’s global network of dealers and retailers for €549.00 EUR/$599.00 USD.

]]>http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/arturia-finally-reveal-audiofuse/feed/0UVI EGP | Electric Grand – Reviewhttp://www.failedmuso.com/blog/uvi-egp-electric-grand-review/
http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/uvi-egp-electric-grand-review/#commentsSun, 18 Jan 2015 18:30:49 +0000http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/?p=4829Some years ago, a rather enthusiastic, and somewhat giddy, Steve Howell (Hollow Sun) popped up in my Messenger application and proceeded to get all excited about his latest project. The fog of time has clouded the exact details somewhat, but I got roped in to broker the deal and acquisition of a Yamaha CP70 and arrange delivery to South Wales. I seem to recall I also had a hand in sorting out the sale of it some months later too. Steve hated eBay.

Anyway, Steve was more than a tad excited because the CP70 was quite a special instrument for him. It had been used by some of his musical heroes, such as Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks and had returned to prominence at the time through a band called Keane, for whom it not only formed a key part of their sound but was also evident in a lot of the band imagery too. Furthermore, he saw this project as a way to fully utilise the sampling features of the latest range of Akai hardware samplers, which would also turn out to be their last. The Z Series attempted to build on the success of the S5000/S6000 units that had become so dominant in that field, but sadly fell wide of the mark, brought about largely by an ailing Japanese Akai who found themselves competing with ever improving software samplers. Software samplers were cheap, especially to the many who used pirated copies. They were also appealing to sample library developers because they could lock down their content better via monolithic sample files. Nobody wanted to cart around hefty hardware anymore, especially when they could cram multiple gigabytes on a laptop, rather than megabytes in a rack mounted module. So Steve saw an opportunity to create a library that utilised some of the unique features of the Z Series, which included the Z4, Z8 and the ill fated, aborted Boreas, a version of the Z4 designed to be sold as a sampler/rompler with a built in hard drive and lots of sounds out of the box. One of the (then) unique features of the Z Series was note off sampling. This is where a sample can be assigned to trigger on the release of a note on the keyboard as well as the striking of one. Steve planned to not only sample all the notes, but also the mechanism of the CP70, including the hammer action that occurred when the key was released.

He slaved over this beast for some time, sampling every note at multiple velocities and then judiciously refining those samples into a library that had a much smaller footprint than its sound suggested. I helped in the testing and instantly fell in love with it, particularly because of those subtle yet all important note off samples. He’d even sampled the sound of the mechanics when the damping and sustain pedals were pressed so that when you played this thing, it truly did sound like you were playing the real thing. So convincing was his library that Keane themselves picked up a copy to use both in the studio and out live.

But I digress. The reason I’ve started this review of UVI’s EGP Electric Grand library with this story is to give you, dear reader, some context behind my appreciation of sampling an electric grand piano. Yamaha’s unique approach to creating an authentic piano sound in as small a space as possible was, at the time, revolutionary. No other electric piano sounded as close to the real thing as the CP series did, but it had its own unique character that was instantly recognisable and used by many, including Stevie Wonder, Keith Emerson, Tears For Fears, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Boston, Journey, Asia, U2 and Abba as well as the previously mentioned luminaries. But as revolutionary as it was, it was still an incredibly hefty beast that came in two halves and weighed a ton (300lbs, to be precise).

Whilst there have been other CP series based libraries in the past, it was always my opinion that Steve’s was the best because of its totality in capturing the sound of the instrument. That opinion has now changed, and I have to confess that it fills me with a degree of guilt that I now have to rank my dearly departed friend’s library into second place. Trust me, I do not say this lightly.

UVI have taken the CP to the next level. They have not only extensively sampled a CP70, both electrically and acoustically, with multiple miking positions in a professional studio environment, they’ve included built in effects, EQ and multiple playing styles that draw from techniques used in their rather marvellous IRCAM Prepared Piano library. This means you can select whether you want your piano played traditionally or by using picks, sticks, brushes, fingers or bows. And then you can combine this stuff, as well as tweaking the mic positions, EQ and effects to your hearts desire.

Upon loading the library, you are given 8 categories to choose from… Standard, Pick, Stick, Brush, Fingers, Bows (conventional and Ebow), Muted and Miscellaneous. Each of these give you your initial choice of “attack”. Open up one of these categories and your first choice will be a default version. That is, the simple sound of the piano played by that method with no adjustments to miking, EQ or FX. Below this are a range of presets created by UVI. These range from the sublime to the not so ridiculous but clearly demonstrate what is capable with this library because of the depth of detail that has been gone into here.

UVI have captured both the electric signal that passes out of the CP70 as well as the acoustic sound captured by microphones placed around the instrument. Microphones have been placed to both left and right of the piano, as well as mid/side miking so that you can have a full 5 sample layers with complete control over the mix of those layers. You can also affect the electric signal via a replication of the EQ and tremolo functions found on the original. And all of this is before you feed that electric signal, if you choose, through the supplied effects, rendered here as traditional stompboxes. These FX comprise of Overdrive, Chorus, Phaser, Delay and Reverb. On top of this, you can also apply EQ, delay and reverb to the acoustic samples too. Reverb in this instance is provided by the stunning UVI Sparkverb algorithms. So, to summarise, you have samples taken from both the electrical signal as well as the acoustic recordings, both of which can have EQ and FX applied separately. Finally, there is a settings section that allows some tinkering with amplitude envelopes and filter settings as well as the pedal volume and dynamics. You can also mess around with the stereo signal too. Finally, there is a wheel strum setting that allows you to hold down keys on the keyboard, and then use the mod wheel to ‘strum’ the notes. This is most effective when using the pick or stick samples. You can also expand the keyboard range to match that of the larger CP80.

So, as you can see, there is an enormous amount of potential here. You might argue that if you simply want a regular CP sound, there are far more affordable options. This might be true, but where’s the fun in that? And you sure as hell couldn’t get this amount of high quality samples captured in so many ways just of the normal function of a CP70. Steve’s CP70 library costs one twelfth of the EGP but it doesn’t feature the extensive sampling of the EGP, whether that be in the regular mode or one of the many preparations. The EGP is a far more comprehensive package and not even Steve would argue with that, although I imagine he’d still say it was overpriced! But then, he always was a cantankerous and curmudgeonly old sod

I would go as far to say that this is a definitive CP library. Definitive and extensive, possibly exhaustive. I imagine that whatever your needs are regarding this instrument, this library will cover it, be it simple, authentic reproduction or wild and crazy experimentation. The quality of the samples and the sampling are exquisite. The controls are simple and intuitive and UVI’s new compression techniques get this 20GB sample library down into a little under 5GB with no loss of quality. All of this comes in a small DVD case that contains a UVI branded flat USB key, serial number, UVI catalogue and authorization instructions. The manual is brief and stored on the USB key along with the library and a copy of the free UVI Workstation app that is required to play it. EGP is also available as a download from UVI direct.

In a previous review of UVI’s Vintage Vault, I mentioned the fact that it didn’t play well with MOTU’s MachFive 3 sampler, in as much as sustain loops vanished and scripting errors occurred. Thankfully, this is not the case with EGP (aside from one or two discardable scripting warnings) and it plays perfectly with MachFive 3 which is a real bonus.

This instrument is an absolute joy to play with. One the one hand you have the instant satisfaction of a full CP70/80 with its unmistakeable tone and character that is piano but not quite piano. And you have the ability to very quickly play the tricks the likes of which Gabriel did using a slap of chorus or phase to get a really unique piano tone. And on the other hand you’ve got new sounds that were never anticipated nor ever heard before. There is something otherworldly about playing a bowed piano string, even more so when that is one of the CP70s much shorter strings. Apply reverb, some delay and you have evolving textures and character that have to be heard to be appreciated. Drones, bright and percussive timbres, constantly developing, eclectic soundscapes and so much more. This is far, far beyond a piano at times, but equally it is absolutely everything you could desire from a faithful recreation of one of the all time great keyboards.

Like all UVI products, a free iLok Account is required and you have the option of using the software key via their license manager or an iLok hardware key. An iLok key is highly recommended but not necessary. Three concurrent authorisations can be active at any one time, for greater flexibility and convenience.

]]>http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/uvi-egp-electric-grand-review/feed/0UVI Vintage Vault – Reviewhttp://www.failedmuso.com/blog/uvi-vintage-vault-review/
http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/uvi-vintage-vault-review/#commentsTue, 13 Jan 2015 19:57:40 +0000http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/?p=4804There seems to be a growing trend amongst software instrument developers in recent years of bundling their goods up into an “ultimate” package and offering that package at a considerable discount to their customers over the combined prices of the individual, component items. This has a number of effects. Firstly, the user community tend to lose their mind over the sheer awesomeness of the bargain to be had. Secondly, people who own a number of the component parts get concerned that they’ve been screwed over. And finally, a segment of the internet bemoans the pricing of the individual instruments, protesting that they can’t be worth “all that” and “how criminal it is that they get away with it”.

I can agree with all of these points from a certain perspective, but as you all well know, my preferred composition and production environment is Propellerhead’s Reason and so we’re not normally privy to such bundles and therefore I’ve never really had to think about it that much. I suppose that if you really like all the tools a developer makes, it’s a worthwhile investment, and given the significant discount over the individual products, it certainly comes across as very tempting.

And now, a developer who gets a lot of “air-time” on this blog (and deservedly so) is tossing its hat into the “mega-bundle” ring. Over the last few years, UVI have been steadily releasing sample libraries with beautiful front ends, all of which are derived from classic vintage synths and samplers. Everything from a Minimoog to a Fairlight, a Korg M1 to a Yamaha CS-70m and a Synclavier to a Mellotron have been used as not-so-subtle inspirations for a wealth of great sounding libraries that offer a reasonable amount of tweaking not often seen outside of Kontakt instruments.

Towards the back end of 2014, UVI launched Vintage Vault. This collection gathered up all 36 of their vintage branded instruments, which also included their Beat Box Anthology package, giving you in excess of 5000 presets across 63GB of content (originally 114GB in WAV format before being losslessly compressed to FLAC) and all usable in pretty much every plugin format there is (except Reason’s Rack Extension, sadly). These libraries use UVI’s free UVI Workstation as a host, and it is that workstation that is available as a VST/AU/RTAS/AAX plugin, working on both OSX and Windows (32 & 64bit) as well as a standalone device. That’s pretty flexible. All of this content is protected by iLok, but before you add your voice to a collective groan, you don’t need an iLok key, although it’s very handy if you have one. iLok is now a protection system that allows for a software “key” so as long as you have a free iLok account, and as long as you download the iLok Manager software, you can store the key for this package on a computer as well as a key. In fact, you can also store it on a second machine if you wanted to use this in two locations. Will this see the end of the bitching and moaning about copy protections systems? Probably not if those systems get in the way of pirates and hackers.

So, if you were to add up the total cost of all these instruments, you’d be looking at the thick end of $2500. That’s a fair chunk o’ cash, even though you would be getting a sizeable sonic arsenal. But UVI are asking for nothing more than $499. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being flippant. I know that $499 is a sizeable wedge but it IS one fifth of the value, perceived or otherwise.

For that $499 you get the following instruments (Instruments they are based on in parentheses):

The eagle eyed amongst you will see that doesn’t quite add up to 36 instruments. That’s because some of those libraries contain multiple functions. For example, The Beast, which is an extensive Synclavier library, has separate modules for the sampling, FM and drum functions. Either way, it’s still a metric shed load of instruments that you’re getting.

And how is all this delivered? Well, if you have a fibre connection and the necessary disk capacity, you can download it, but UVI have also seen fit to supply this on a very convenient USB stick. The stick itself is UVI branded and entirely metal in its construction and looks capable of withstanding a bit of a battering, but the laughable thing is that it is supplied in a box measuring 24cm x 19xcm x 5cm! Slide off the glossy, picture laden sleeve and you have a delightful blue box with subtle silver logos. Slide the lid off and 4cm of that 5cm depth is taken up by a black cardboard insert topped off with 0.5cm of grey foam that has a small USB stick size hole in the middle, within which the Vintage Vault USB stick lays. On top of that is a small colour poster, a 4 page quick start guide with the serial number stuck to it and a sheet of white stickers, containing logos of most of the instruments contained therein. It’s an awful lot of packaging for such a small amount of stuff and even though it’s nicely put together and will stand out on a shelf, be it in a store or in your studio, I can’t help but think that the more environmentally aware users might be slightly critical. But hey, if you read this before you buy, you can make that choice yourself and get the download version!

And the contents?

Well, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, I’m sure you’ll be aware of all the reviews I’ve done of the UVI Vintage line, including the videos. If not, then here are the links!

I guess it all depends on your current situation and what you already have in your sonic arsenal. Unlike some other mega collections, these are, at their core, just elaborate sample libraries. Now, that said, they are exemplary in terms of sonic quality and sheer size. They also feature exquisite GUI design, a comment which is not just reserved for the styling but also the consistent and simple functionality. I’ve said it many times that the front ends of UVI libraries are deceptively powerful. What looks pretty simple and basic is actually extremely well thought out and can be dived into with a fair degree of user manipulation. I often get questions on my YouTube reviews as to whether these are actual software emulations and they are not. They are malleable sample libraries that allow the user to get instant gratification along with a good degree of tweakability.

When you line this lot up against some of the true heavyweight soft synths out there today, the UVI material stands up quite well, but it would also be a tad unfair on UVI. I don’t know of any other developer who is making something comparable to the Vintage Vault instruments. I first discovered UVI when I was introduced to Emulation II. I had been searching for a good Emulator II library, and had found barely a few contenders, such as Digital Sound Factory’s Emax library, so Emulation II really ticked a box. As a Fairlight aficionado, I found Darklight to be an interesting take on the love of my life. There has never been a significant Synclavier library until The Beast and the Waldorf inspired Waverunner is still, as far as I know, the only worthy Waldorf library out there, certainly one that covers a number of their machines.

I think my favourite thing about the UVI range is that it is very, no… INCREDIBLY easy to mess around with these sounds and come up with something inspiring. That deceptive interface can very much be a wolf in sheep’s clothing and you can soon find yourself coming up with some superb sounds, especially as the UVI workstation has some cracking effects built in as standard. Remember, UVI Workstation is completely free.

Of the instruments included here, I can think of very few soft synth emulations where paths cross. Korg’s own M1 soft synth is one, GForce’s Virtual String Machine and M-Tron Pro are others. I won’t even bother to compare these because it just isn’t fair. Both the Korg and GForce products are vastly superior due to either their size, quality or ability to be programmed. If you’re in the market for an M1 in software, the Korg wins every time. Ditto the String Machine and M-Tron. But there are few, if any, Synclavier type instruments, or good quality libraries of the Rhodes Chroma or DK Synergy. The sheer volume of stuff on here that isn’t available elsewhere in such quality makes it worth having. And don’t be put off too much by the vintage label. Whilst these instruments are rooted in the 70s, 80s and 90s, many of the patches have a very modern flavour.

I was slightly disappointed to not see UVI’s cracking little WaveFrame AudioFrame library included here. I know it doesn’t have the pretty interface, but it certainly fits the classic and vintage criteria and I highly recommend it. Maybe UVI might do an update soon?

I was hoping, very much, to talk here about how well these played with MOTU’s Mach Five 3 sampler. Until very recently, all UVI’s instruments have been immediately compatible with Mach Five 3 as it utilises the UVI Engine. In fact, it always used to be a big selling point, but it seems that is no longer the case. When you try and launch a Vintage Vault instrument into MF3, all seems well until the load process has finished. At which point, you sometimes receive an error stating, “This script was created with a more recent version of MachFiveScript: 13. Please upgrade your software”. It then appears, once this error has been dismissed, that the instrument has loaded fine, but when you try playing it, all the individual note sustain loops have vanished! Hold down a note and after a few seconds, the note shuts off dead. Updating to the latest (at the time of this post) version, 3.2.1, yields no improvements. I don’t have any information based on facts, but it seems that, possibly, the relationship between MOTU and UVI may have cooled somewhat. UVI recently employed new compression & scripting techniques in their instruments, and it appears that the necessary update to Mach Five 3 hasn’t been implemented and it doesn’t look like it will either. I contacted both companies and UVI told me that everything works fine with the UVI Workstation (which it does) and MOTU told me they had no public plans for an update to fix these errors. Reading between the lines, I just get the impression that the relationship has cooled. This just suggests to me that maybe MOTU are either abandoning Mach Five or that they plan to release a new version with something else at its heart. Of course, there is the possibility that MF3 will carry on as is, and just not support UVI’s libraries. I’m unsure as to how this might affect 3rd party libraries that are UVI licensed. Either way would be a shame as I really do like Mach Five 3. It presents a far more friendly and powerful interface than its arch rival, Kontakt. Its powerful sound shaping abilities, all of which use the UVI Engine, are pretty mind-blowing. So, to lose this compatibility is a bit of a blow for us MF3 users But on the plus side, the UVI Workstation is much more than just a VST/AU/RTAS/AAX wrapper and provides an excellent host for everything in this box.

This set will appeal to nostalgia freaks like me. It ticks many a box in that department for sure. But if the vintage tag puts you off, or the fact these are (elaborate) sample libraries makes you hesitant, please reconsider. There is enough material and content here to keep any music maker happy, whatever your style or genre. And the instant gratification one can get from just tinkering with the pattern sequencers or arpeggiators can be truly inspirational. It’s a gold mine of brilliantly sampled analogue and digital fun.

]]>http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/uvi-vintage-vault-review/feed/0DEXED – Free DX7 Emulation and Librarianhttp://www.failedmuso.com/blog/dexed-free-dx7-emulation-and-librarian/
http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/dexed-free-dx7-emulation-and-librarian/#commentsMon, 29 Dec 2014 17:23:36 +0000http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/?p=4798I am not in the slightest bit ashamed to admit that I love the Yamaha DX7 (and it’s various DX relatives). I actually adore the synonymous electric piano patch, along with those emphatic basses and all the other things it could do. I no longer own my DX27, but miss it terribly. But I made up for it by buying Propellerheads PX7 Rack Extension which not only replicates its hardware forebear, but also happily reads original DX patches, which means that if you do a quick search online, you will soon be in the possession of a synth with over 200,000 patches, which goes a long way to alleviating the fact that FM synthesis is not that easy to program.

Anyway, today I discovered DEXED. It’s a freeware DX7 emulation VST plugin that doubles up as a patch librarian for the original DX7 synth too!

It’s still in development, but the version you can download now is mightily impressive, as the video demo below shows.

Surprisingly, this synth has grown out of an Android project and uses Android code. I say ‘surprisingly’ as Android is notoriously poor when it comes to music production apps, due to the poor handling of audio and high latency within the OS, unlike Apple’s Core Audio within iOS that sees the App Store positively bulging with studio quality synths, FX and sequencers.

]]>http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/dexed-free-dx7-emulation-and-librarian/feed/1Season’s Greetings!http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/seasons-greetings/
http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/seasons-greetings/#commentsTue, 23 Dec 2014 19:14:17 +0000http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/?p=4792I don’t do Xmas really. That is, sure, I partake of a few days of paid leave and I spend time with my family, exchange a few gifts and drink a bit more than is usual, but Xmas lost its sparkle for me circa 1988, when I left home and spent my first Xmas alone in my bedsit. I remember getting just the one gift, posted to me by my favourite aunt. It was a bottle of ‘Fahrenheit’ by Christian Dior. Still one of my favourites

Anyway, that experience, coupled with working in retail for nigh on 15 years in my early days of gainful employment, and a personal blow one Xmas day in 1997 delivered by the first Mrs Muso, have served to remove any sense of occasion from this season. And not being of any religious persuasion, I resent the way a celebration of the winter solstice has been hijacked both by religion and consumerism. So, apologies if that offends, but I hope my readers are intelligent and considerate enough to both entertain and allow alternative viewpoints without them clouding their enjoyment of this site.

ANYWAY…!! Moving on…

I just wanted to wish all my readers, whatever their seasonal persuasion, a very merry one and a safe, happy and prosperous 2015!

Add to that some more Fairlight restoration posts which will likely culminate in the Stanley CMI finding a new owner and the commencement of the IIx restoration and acquisition of another Series III!!

I had desperately hoped to find suitable sponsorship to fund a trip to Anaheim, CA for Winter NAMM 2015 but that sadly fell by the wayside due to, mainly, me not being able to come up with an ingenious crowd funding plan/idea. Still, there’s always 2016!

Enjoy the coming festivities and, most of all, enjoy spending some well earned downtime with those that you love the most.

I will leave you with this video that my friend, and altogether utter fucking stand-up geezer, Dave Spiers made just recently. In lieu of my own Xmas ditty that is absent this year, Dave has made what can only be described as the most moving, synth-based Xmas video I can ever recall.

Ciao tutti! Buon natale e felice anno nuovo!

]]>http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/seasons-greetings/feed/0Failed Muso on Bedroom Cassette Masters 7http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/failed-muso-on-bedroom-cassette-masters-7/
http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/failed-muso-on-bedroom-cassette-masters-7/#commentsWed, 26 Nov 2014 19:40:21 +0000http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/?p=4774Some while ago, I fulfilled a personal ambition of mine to release a single to an unsuspecting public. Surprisingly, people (not many) paid for it and downloaded it from iTunes or Amazon, and some even streamed it on Spotify. I still harbour an ambition to release something on a physical format, preferably vinyl, but I’m working on that.

Anyway, a couple of years ago I was made aware of a compilation album series called Bedroom Cassette Masters, and its curator, Simon Holland. Simon put out a call for bedroom musos to submit their tracks that they had made on their old porta-studios or similar, between 1980 and 1989 (or, at least deeply inspired by that era) to form neatly crafted albums of hopeful musicians making hopeful music in an age of wonder and discovery for grossly underfunded, indie wannabies. After five successful volumes, each of which were accompanied by the most delicious PDF liner notes, consisting of period pictures and retro-styled new artwork, Simon reached back a decade into the 70s for BCM 6. And to follow that, BCM 7 set out to tackle the 90s. And this was where I came in.

After Simon put out his request for submissions, I felt I had to contribute, given that the 90s were my most musically prolific years, and the decade where I finally realised my dreams of owning synths and sequencers. In 1996, after many years of trying to get a job that paid enough for me to save, I finally amassed enough cash to buy some proper professional gear, rather than the hotch-potch of equipment I had been tinkering with until that point. I ventured down to the now long since departed Turnkey music store (aka Soho Soundhouse) on London’s Charing Cross Road and bought a Roland SC-88VL and an Evolution MK-149 controller that came bundled with a Cubase clone software sequencer called Evolution Audio.

I had deliberated long and hard about how to spend this money and the offer that Turnkey had on the SC-88VL was too good to miss. If I recall correctly, it had been reduced by almost 50% to about £369 and the MK-49 was going for about £110. I knew I had to get the most for my money and that pristine GS/GM soundset seemed to cover all of my bases. And the bundled sequencer with the MK-149 sealed the deal. These two items, coupled with my fairly new, custom built PC, featuring a Soundblaster AWE64 soundcard, would be all I needed to make full on compositions on my own. Later on, I purchased a few editions of the Twiddly Bits MIDI File series which enabled me to use professionally created MIDI files to mess around with filter and cutoff settings within the SC88-VL, which had no direct controls over those features, as well as using some of their arpeggio files to spruce up my compositions. Little did I know that these files were being created by Dave Spiers of GForce Software, who would later become a good friend of mine!

I remember how I felt, later that night, after hooking it all up and finally being able to multi-track a composition in my own front room… the independence was dizzying and over the next few months, stuff seemed to pour out of me. I’d stay up till the early hours finishing up stuff, recording it onto a cassette, playing it in the car on the way to work, annoying work colleagues with it during lunch breaks and generally feeling like I was on my way to achieving something. It didn’t last though (hence the name of this blog!). As I managed to earn and save more, I bought more gear, and I noticed a correlation between the amount of gear I had and my productivity declining. Coupled with a failing marriage, long working hours and the onset of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, my musical output went the same direction as my libido, i.e south.

Many years later, I discovered a cassette of my early works and digitised them into WAV files. Later on, I uploaded them to SoundCloud and there they sat, garnering the occasional piece of praise, for which I was always grateful. That was until BCM 7. I listened back to these songs, chuckled at their naivety, and picked one for submission. And lo and behold, it got picked!

So, go and download this thing. The first 200 downloads are free. After that, it’s £3, or as much as you want to pay. You can also stream directly from the Bandcamp page or from this embedded player (I’m track 34, by the way)…

The 104 page PDF is worth the price alone, and a printable cassette J-Card is also provided for those die-hards who want to “keep it real” and dub to cassette. I know I’ll be doing that

I don’t get a cut, but then I was never expecting this stuff to ever earn me anything. I’m just happy to have been selected and to know that a piece of my music has been deemed good enough for inclusion with 41 other exceptionally gifted artists.

Listen to the extended version of ‘Progress’ here…

]]>http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/failed-muso-on-bedroom-cassette-masters-7/feed/0Fairlight Restoration – A Verbal Video Update!http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/fairlight-restoration-a-verbal-video-update/
http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/fairlight-restoration-a-verbal-video-update/#commentsMon, 27 Oct 2014 20:54:10 +0000http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/?p=4772Not much to add to the video, so sit back and enjoy and try and stay awake!!